Kent 209, Lancashire 204
Gerry Wolstenholme
In the Metro Bank One Day Cup game at Stanley Park on Sunday and in
front of a sun-kissed packed crowd, Kent Spitfires defeated Lancashire
Lightning by the slender margin of five runs. In a game in which the
fortunes of the two sides ebbed and flowed, it was the Spitfires ho held
their nerve and managed to prise out the Lightning’s last man in
dramatic fashion.
The unfortunate number 11 was debutant Ollie Sutton who had
been obliged to retire injured after bowling just three balls of his opening
over and was obliged to bat with Lightning requiring six runs for victory
from the final over. After his first ball it was patently obvious that he was
in great distress holding the bat, let alone using it. And so it proved as
Matt Parkinson, who did not enter the attack until the 29 th over, bowled
the struggling batsman with the second ball of the final over and the
game was won and lost.
Earlier in the day, Keeton Jennings won the toss and put the
Spitfires in to bat and they began cautiously but quickly got in their stride
and Beyers Swanepoel, 19, and Joey Evison, 22, put on 26 in 4.2 overs
but both had gone by the time the total was 60, the former caught by
George Lavelle and the latter run out when, instead of reacting to his
partner’s call, he briefly watched the off-drive from Ekansh Singh and
consequently set off late and Jack Blatherwick’s throw to George Bell
found him short of his ground.
Scoring thereafter was steady rather than spectacular as the total
advanced to 100-3 at the halfway mark with the Lancashire bowlers
keeping a tight grip on the scoring. Singh, 15, was the third wicket to fall
at 61 when from Sutton’s second ball he played an ugly shot that looped
to point. There followed a 54-run stand between skipper Jack Leaning,
24, and Jaydn Denly, 32, that took them to 115-4. The latter, playing too
soon to a well disguised slower ball, was caught at mid-on by Chris
Green off Charlie Barnard to give the slow left-armer his first senior
wicket.
The same duo then repeated the dose when Leaning was caught
at long-off with the total on 136 before the remainder of the innings
revolved around wicketkeeper Harry Finch who made a top score of 48
from 63 balls with seven fours. Parkinson chipped in with a handy 19
before he was run out by a throw from George Balderson to Green. And
when with eight balls of their innings remaining Jennings took a catch off
Nathan Gilchrist, it was all over at a rather modest 209 with 22 fours and
one six. Green with 3-38 was the most successful bowler while, in an
overall containing bowling performance, there were two wickets each for
Will Williams and the impressive Barnard for 41 and 47 respectively.
Bell opened the reply with Jennings but, caught at slip, he went
early for six to be quickly followed by Josh Bohannon who made five
before he was superbly caught as Evison took an excellent overhead
catch and it was a rather sorry 24-2. Progress for a while was sedate
with Jennings in particular being very watchful but he and Balderson, 27
off 44 balls, took the total to 65 at which point Charlie Stobo struck twice
in three balls. He had Balderson caught at cover by Denly and Lavelle
caught behind and it was 65-4.
Rocky Flintoff entered for his first senior innings for Lancashire and
at the halfway point Lancashire were 82-4 with plenty of work to be
done. Then at 96 Flintoff was drawn forward by Parkinson and just
raised his heel sufficiently for Finch to smartly whip off the bails and he
was gone for 12. Green struck one four in his six runs before Parkinson
struck again, trapping him leg before wicket and that was 120-6.
Fortunately for Lightning Jack Blatherwick was in belligerent mood
and he struck two sixes off Leaning in his 25 from 24 balls before, going
for another big hit, he got an edge and skied the ball straight up in the air
and bowler Swanepoel ran down to comfortably take the catch to make it
169-7.
But Jennings, who had been anchoring the innings superbly, had
taken Blatherwick’s lead and, was beginning to score more freely. He
was joined by Williams, who dug in while Jennings kept the scoreboard
moving. But he lost Williams, four, when he edged Parkinson through to
Finch at 188-8; just 22 runs for victory and Jennings began to farm the
strike to keep Lancashire on track.
In the penultimate over Jennings struck two boundaries off
Swanepoel, who had bowled supremely well and finished with 3-26 from
nine overs, to take his side closer to victory. But disaster struck from the
final ball of that 49 th over when, with the total on 204, Barnard, who had
manfully defended his wicket for the nine balls he had been allowed to
face, was run out at the non-striker’s end as Jennings attempted to
manipulate the strike for the final over. But it must be said that Stobo’s
direct hit was an excellent piece of work.
And so we got to the final over and that dramatic finish from the
second ball that gave Kent Spitfires the victory by five runs with
Jennings left stranded on 107 not out, his third century at Blackpool this
season, made from 140 balls with 13 fours and one six. Parkinson
finished with excellent figures of 4-30 from his 8.2 overs.
And how Kent Spitfires celebrated, which was perhaps not
surprising considering the disappointing season they are having in other
competitions.
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